 |
Presented By
|
|
|
FACES & PLACES 
|
|
Shop 'till you drop: This past month the Chamber announced that it would be going through an organizational restructure to carry out its upcoming four-year strategic plan, Fortify. One of the first objectives was moving offices within our current space, which quickly turned into a full fledged purge. Our break room became the hot spot for holiday shopping / White Elephant gag presents / home decor outlet. "One man's trash is another one's treasure!" Some items will be donated to charity. Stay tuned for more strategic plan details in January 2018! |
This is EPIC! Grand Prairie is putting together Grand Central, a complex with activities, entertainment and food, all owned by the city. There's a theater, an amphitheater, a test kitchen, a fitness center, a library, a radio station and more. But the biggie -- Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark -- opens verrrry soon. Epic is indoors, hence the name, with outdoor viewing via clear siding and a roof that opens. It is 85 degrees inside with dehumidifiers and water temps are 83 degrees. Epic features the longest wave pool in Texas and totals 11 attractions, including the The Lasso Loop, the Yellow Jacket Drop and The Aquanaut. Epic directors Chelsey and Lauren floated B2B Insider a 2-pack of all-day passes for two readers.
 Where the West is won: Financial advisor David George is as passionate about 44 Farms in Cameron, TX as he is money and Reined Cow Horse competitions. When he found out that Buffalo West restaurant served 44 Farms steaks, David set up a blow-up mattress at the restaurant and moved in under the all-you-can-eat salad bar. He has purchased a heifer, which he will breed to a 44 Farms bull. Once he is full of his own bulls, he will be able to move out of Buffalo West and back to his ranch in the hinterlands. He wants to share his largesse with a B2B Insider reader, so steak your claim to this $50 gift card to Buffalo West.
Clearance buys: Boss Andra (not in my) House said to make this item hot. So, somewhere between The Velvet Box and the excitement of a sleeping Rip Van Winkle is this giveaway from the Chamber. At year-end, but not outdated, the Chamber is holding a 50 percent off sale on its publications (you must log-in to receive the discount), including the incredibly picturesque coffee table book, Energized for the Future. On your coffee table, it never will look out-of-date. Also half-price are the DFW Media Directory and the Fort Worth Business Press' Book of Lists. Free to members is the the Fort Worth Metro Area relocation magazine, Fort Worth fold-out map, and PDF directory of the Chamber membership. Normally, it's downloadable for free; this month, it's half of free. B2B Insider has a coffee table book for three readers.
Idea of the year: John Fletcher, sponsor of a local business luncheon, took an idea from girlfriend Rebecca Barksdale and made it cha-ching. During lunch, envelopes were handed to all attendees. Each envelope contained a $5, $10, $20 or $50 bill. "Take this ... and make someone's day," John said. "Leave it as an extra tip ... Use it to pay groceries for someone behind you in line. Buy someone's coffee. What you choose to do says a lot about who you are. If you pocket this money, nobody else will know, but you will lose out on a blessing." John is that kind of guy; for youse guys, he has an autographed copy of Bob Schieffer's book, Overload, and a $25 gift card to Curly's Frozen Custard.
Congratulations to the December 6th Prize Winners:
- Lisa Erwin, Privia Medical Group North Texas
- Julie Harding, Project Transformation Central Texas
- Richard Brooks, MedStar Mobile Healthcare
- Julianne Viertel, Aloft Fort Worth Downtown
- Richard Standlee, ASL
- Brandon Benefiel, Bell Helicopter
|
|
|
HE SAID, SHE SAID, THEY SAID
|
 Strategically speaking--Chamber: One of the factors influencing the Chamber's Strategic Plan is tremendous growth. "In the past, 90 percent of economic development work was answering the phone ... and we did great," said Chamber Economic Development boss Brandom Gengelbach. "We hope to get in front of it, be proactive in directing growth, planning growth."
Strategically speaking - Fort Worth: The City of Fort Worth Economic Development Strategic Plan was released yesterday after a 10-plus month study and expectations were that it would be adopted by the Council last night. The budgeted amount for the study/plan was $350,000 and it has come in slightly under budget. City leadership told the consultants that "nothing was off the table." To help with your sleepless nights, the entire report can be accessed here." Some highlights:
- Goal 1: Establish Fort Worth's competitive edge; Goal 2: Become a hub for creative businesses; Goal 3: Ensure community vitality; and Goal 4: Determine tools and resources to accomplish the plan.
- Fort Worth's 70,000 acres of developable land is double Dallas' and more than the four largest cities in Collin County combined (Frisco, McKinney, Plano and Allen).
- The Dallas-Fort Worth metro area is not among the five largest healthcare markets in the U.S., despite being the fourth largest metro area ranked by total employment and population.
- Fort Worth has seen above-average growth in middle-skills positions, but lags the region, state and nation in high-skills employment growth.
Greatness comes in small packages: These are the finalists for the Chamber's annual Small Business of the Year honors -- Emerging Businesses: Alchemy Pops, CAET Project Management Consultants and Site Barricades; 1-10 Employees: Affairs Afloat Balloons, Healthy Lifestyle Secrets and The Paisley Heart; 11-50 Employees: iKids Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, Muckleroy & Falls and Pointwise; 51-150 Employees: BorrowWorks, Case Associates and StraCon Services Group. In addition to $1 million in prize money, press conferences and media blitzing, and free mentoring and consulting, finalists receive this mention in B2B Insider. You can meet the finalists at a Business After Hours Jan. 17 at Cendera Cendera. You can find out the winners Feb. 20 at the Mayor's State of the City luncheon.
Elves at work: Darrell Samuelson of GlennScape Landscaping says the company is building and fencing in a dog park for the Park Meadows Apartments retirement facility Saturday morning. "Installing a chain link fence and two gates," Darrell said. "Spreading 12-to-14 yards of cedar mulch donated by Silver Creek Materials. Possibly putting in a couple of grills as well."
Bit by bit: Matthew Davidson of his namesake law group says his mother recently gave him U.S. Savings Bonds she had been holding for him. He cashed them in and bought bitcoin. Definitely old school to new school.
Hey! Give someone else a chance: A few weeks back, B2B Insider mentioned the lucky winning streak of Chris Gebhardt of Lackland Security. Nine times his name was drawn for prizes in 11 months. Last week was his 10th this year, winning the drawing at the Central Area Council coffee at Corner Bakery.
|
'Birthdays are good for you...the more you have, the longer you live!'
Reagan Ferguson (born Dec. 15)
--Pressman Printing
|
S
tate/game-manship: With regard to the Mike Leach (Texas Tech) and Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M) firings, Doug Clayton, attorney at Cantey Hanger, is pondering "what recourse does a coach have if a school were to fire him/her and just not pay off the contract if you can't sue the state."
Searching in all the right places: Fort Worth Housing Solutions hired a recruiter out of Georgia to find its next executive director. Mary Margaret-Lemons, the new ED, was right down the hall as General Counsel. That happens frequently. "It never hurts to go out and look nationally at what talent is out there, but 60 percent of the time you should be promoting within," said Darien George, founder of executive recruiting firm Mackenzie Eason. "Although, too often people promote from within because it's the devil they know, rather than finding great talent to bring in. There isn't a right or wrong answer as long as you understand what the organization needs."
 Taking sides: Mike Sides of
Sides & Teague CPAs says he is sleep-walking through the 495-page proposed tax plan. "It looks pretty good for non high-income folks," he said.
No buffalo-ing you with this: Last Saturday night, about 30 members and spouses of the Texas Tornadoes leads group had dinner and a holiday party at Buffalo West. The Tornadoes' bank account foot the bill with money collected from dues and shared business leads throughout the year. That's a lot of leads. |
Date Event Name
|
|
|
MAPS ARE HERE & FREE!
|
 This four-color street map covers Tarrant County and includes a special inset indicating the location of the DFW International Airport in proximity to Fort Worth and Dallas. Grab your FREE copy of the 2018 version
here, or email us to order multiple copies.
Additionally,
now through Dec. 31, all publications are 50% off! Check out our inventory
here.
Email
Christine Gores or call 817-338-3332 for more information. See more of our publications in our online store.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
